The 1993 Boston Marathon – My First Boston
1993 – My First Boston
n 1993 I finally made it to Boston – as a marathoner. I had had a breakthrough race (32 minute PR) the year before at Grandma's
Marathon in Minnesota (see my report: ) and I had trained hard during the
winter of '93. Lots of Flyers were there (probably close to 20) as was my family,
including my dad. He lived down on the Cape, and we had stayed with him for a couple of days before the race. He knew Boston like the
back of his hand since he had lived and worked there for years. He was staying with a friend and the rest of us were in a downtown
Hotel, the Park Plaza. Later we showed him a postcard showing the hotel overlooking the Boston Common and he said "That's the Statler;
that's where we stayed on our wedding night in 1937". A rather astounding coincidence, I'd say. The postcard was from my friend Susan to
wish me luck in the marathon.
On Saturday (or maybe it was Sunday) they dedicated the "Young At Heart" statue at the foot of Heartbreak Hill. Johnny Kelley the Elder had
run his last Boston (number 61) the previous year, and the statue shows the young and the old Kelley holding hands.
Marathon day turned hot, and most of us fell off our pace and struggled in, but I did relatively well considering the heat.
But one of the most helpful things of marathon day was that we all got to stay at the home of a friend of Jerry Flower, right on the
street where we lined up for the start and only a block or two away, and we got to the starting line thoroughly hydrated and had
convenient use of their bathroom. So it was Park Plaza to Jerry's friend's — and this provided a great
deal of comradery and bonding for our group. Both of these are mentioned below by members of the group..
But the best thing happend around mile 22 where the course turns right off of Commonwealth Avenue at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and heads
down the steep grade to Cleveland Circle. I was supposed to meet my family along that stretch. I spotted my son about halfway down on the right
and stopped. "Where's Da?" I asked. "Across the road with Mommy." So I cut across the road – thronged with runners – annoying a few of them with my
sudden retrograde course change. I found them and got a big hug from my dad. It was probably the first time he had been to the Boston Marathon
since the 1950s when he took us to watch. The proud look in his eyes were all it took for me to finish strong. A circle of some 40 years had been closed.
One of the runners whom I did not mention in my "Remembrances of Bostons Past" post is David Mark Brown. He's the one who went
to Duluth with me in 1992 to do Grandma's Marathon, and we both qualified for Boston! Click the link near the top of this page
(or if
you don't feeling like scrolling back) to get that story.
In this race (but not Grandma's Marathon) he was dressed as "Gumby" and he is mentioned a few times below. The fact is he did well — he ran the whole race with his
Gumby suit on and still did a 3:51. He picked up "Pokey" from my son (who was keeping it for him) at the Chesnut Hill Reservoir
about 15 minutes after I passed that point and met my dad. He became more famous than all the rest of us combined by getting his
picture in The Boston Herald the next morning. Boy, don't I wish I had saved that. Don't know who "Gumby"
and "Pokey" are? Google them. Note: Late Breaking News! Gumby just sent me an old scan he made some years ago,
See Photo right.
In 1993 I was the Newsletter editor for the New York Flyers. Soon after the race (when everything still hurt) I talked to all the Boston runners
that I hung out with and asked them to give me the memories and feelings they had of the race.
The newsletter article consists of a series of quotes that I gathered. And it's interesting to note
that my feelings shown in the above portion of this report which was taken from my report
which I put together in
March of 2010 from many notes I had taken over the years and stops with the 1996 "100th Boston Marathon" is quite positive.
But when you read the following quotes you'll get a rather different feel since ther runners were writing from a very recent
experience.
It may be that as the years go by we remember the good things and forget the not-so-good. And even a bit over a week after the race,
when I got the runners' responses, Abdul-Krim Allam, when asked how he felt durinng the race said, "What happened next, I prefer
to forget." I'm sure we all get that feeing from time to time. It was probably at the speed workout the week after the race
(held Wednesday nights with Cliff Held, coach) when I collected the quotes. We were likely telling our Boston war stories and
tying to out-do one another about how bad it was.
And when you add in the memory of my meeting up with my dad around mile 22 mentioned above, it's not
surprising that I had a happening in that race that was very special to me and the memory of it will last forever.
And by the way, when you look at the results
in the table below, you'll see that we all did quite well considering the hills and heat.
A note on the photos in this report: the good ones of me on the course and finishing came from MarathonFoto and I scanned them
in some years ago. I'm not sure where the Johnny Kelly photo came from but it must have been on the BAA web site or maybe
MarathonFoto had it and sold it with the ones of me. I still have that postcard and I scanned that in a while back. Lastly
the two taken from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir were taken by my son using a 1990s era point-and-shoot camera at a moving crowd
of people then scanned in some 20 years later. Sorry about the quality, but when it's all you have, you keep it and use it.
From the .
The New York Flyers at the 1993 Boston Marathon
The following article consists largely of the remembrances and feelings of the Flyers who were at Boston.
Quotes are attributed as follows
- AP: Andreas Poss
- DK: David Kos
- EO: Ed O'Donnell
- GL: Gordon Loh
- JF: Jerry Flower
- KA: Abdul-Krim Allam
- KB: Kathleen Brennan
- MK: Marge Kos
- MR: Melinda Reiner (who worked in medical).
- RG: Richard G.
- SD: Suzanne Dodge
Some other Flyers at Boston who did not contribute any quotes were
Allastair Bothwick,
David Mark Brown (aka Gumby),
Mary Ann Gibney and
Judy Morrill.
The Preliminaries
AP: "We had a beautiful and very comfortable ride on the express train to Boston. We were very lucky with our hotel although
we did not stay at the same place as the rest of the Flyers."
KA: "I arrived with Ed O'Donnell Saturday afternoon at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel where the Flyers had reserved a suite of rooms.
Sunday morning was spent between numbers pick-up, the Expo and sightseeing."
RG: "Joy and I took Amtrak up and were met by our son, Peter, who we were able to spend a little time with before
and after the race."
KB: "My fondest memories of Boston are of the dinners shared with the large group of Flyers when we carbo loaded and
recounted our experiences."
JF: "The pre-race pasta party at PapaRazzi - with 22 Flyers - was actually larger then the first Flyer Spring pasta
party in 1990."
Race Preparations and Worrying
AP: "I liked Boston, but I was focusing so much on breaking my goal that I could not really appreciate the beauty of
the city."
CM: "Judy, MaryAnn and Gordon insisted on running out to Newton the day prior to the race to witness the unveiling of the
Johnny Kelly statue. One would have thought they would havebeen satisfied with their purchase of the replica for $79.95."
MK: "I have so much fun in Boston, it's difficult to consider race strategy and finish time a top priority"
KA: "Ed and Andreas and I decided to check out the famous Heart-break hills, so we started driving from the finish
line in the opposite direction of the race course. By mile 22 we could feel the anxiety flowing in the air. A deep quiet
decended on the car when on the horizon I started to distinguish huge and long rolling hills, one after another, as though
they were put in the race to break every ambition. I wished I had never gone there. Andreas couldn't sleep, talking about it.
Ed tried to hide his fear behind optimism."
Race Day
KA: "Race day our sleep was disrupted by an early morning fire alarm that turned out to be false. The bus trip to the
starting line in Hopkinton seem endless, much longer than the race distance. The sun shown bright
and the temperature kept rising."
SD: "The bus to the start was fun. We met near the beautiful H.H. Richardson church and had a great time together.
Watching Gumby get ready at the start added to the fun."
JF: "The lack of hassle before the race - lounging on chairs and a sofa in a private home 100 yards from the start,
use of their bathroom (with no line), and leaving the house for the start 15 minutes prior to race time was great."
KA: "The team had the privilege of relaxing and stretching in a house a block from the starting line where
everyone was sucking down water and carbo drinks, then lining up every couple minutes for the bathroom."
SD: "Meeting at Jerry's friend's house in Hopkinton was a great idea"
DK: "Never before had I started a marathon feeling so well prepared ...
And the Gun Goes Off
... and never before have I felt so terrible for the entire time I was on the course."
EO: "Hills, heat ..."
GL: "... heat on race day"
MR: "... the unseasonably hot weather..."
AP: "... it was incredibly hot."
KB: "... the marathon itself was brutal..."
JF: "... the heat during the race..."
MK: "... heat..."
EO: "... hills, heat."
During the Race
GL: "My most vivid recollection is running most of the way with Chris,
Alastair and Frank Gaspar. Jokes and one-liners and working together helped us pull each other through
the tough sections."
AP: "My girl friend didn't take my picture because each time she saw me I was walking."
KA: "What happened next, I prefer to forget."
RG: "At 15 miles I caught up with Gumby, but we couldn't really cheer each other up."
SD: "I ran with Gumby from about 17 to 18 miles.The crowd response was great."
AP: "Except for Wellesley College, I did not like the race at all."
KB: "Judy Morrill, looking very strong, passed me at 20 miles. My quads were aching long before that point."
CM: "I'll never forget running through Newton, seeing a young boy holding up one sock, with a T-shirt saying
'Where's Eric Gibbs?'"
The Finish
MK: "It was satisfying just to finish."
DK: "I took the train from Newton - with so many runners dropping out,
it was standing room only. I looked so terrible that a lady passenger gave me her seat."
SD: "My best feeling was crossing the finish line."
GL: "A true feeling of team work helped me through the most difficult marathon - thanks Chris, Allastair and Frank."
KB: "I'm still not sure how I managed to finish."
MR: "As compared to previous years, the number of runners passing through the medical area was about double.
Shrieks could be heard from a round the tent from cramping runners having their legs worked on.
It was like a warzone."
Final Thoughts
MR: "Hopefully, no Flyers will be visiting me next year in medical."
KB: "All in all however, the Boston Marathon weekend was great fun spent with the Flyers."
JF: "a great post-race dinner with Margaritas and NO pasta."
RG: "I had a great weekend, inspite of the hot race. I'll certainly work to make it back again."
EO: "Hills, heat."
Postscript [January, 2020]
I heard from Krim Allam in January 2020 and he filled me in on what he went through on that day on April 19th, 1993,
almost 27 years ago:
- KA: I can now tell you "What happened next" to replace "What happened next, I prefer to forget":
"I run the rolling down hill so fast, they were so easy. At the end of the downhill I was on pace for 2:40 finish.
I crashed so bad with dehydration and gruesome cramps in both legs then I fell off the stretcher at medical station,
when I begged them to take me to real Medical. They told the ambulance cannot pick me up from the course, I need to
wait for few hours until the last runner have passed. I got up and walked to the medical tent at the finish line
for an IV bag. When I felt better I was helped out of the tent by medics only to get my toes run over by another
poor runner in worst shape pushed on wheel chair to be admitted. My bloody toes were already been treated by medics,
now I need to get back for more treatment. I did not care about crossing the finish line that day, I just wanted
to go to medical but I had to cross it to be able too. I am glad I did not have a choice to quit ..."
- KA: And some additional details of "What happened next":
"... Suzanne Dodge was in much worse condition then me, she was in critical condition. she stayed in the medical
much longer then me and ended up on the locale TV coverage of that brutal day. she needed multiple IV bags. The
TV was there covering the effect of the unseasonably hot day on the runners. Screams from pain all around me,
looked more like an episode of Mash then a race. Beside that, we were very lucky to have our personal Doc, our
Flyer Dr. Melinda Reiner who was very busy but managed to give me extra attention and kept me a little longer
under observation before release. As a foot Dr. she was greatly needed beside the IV. As a new runner then, I
did not know about running shoes MUST be at least 1/4 inch bigger then regular ones. So, I finished with partially
red sneakers."
Thanks for the flashback and updates Krim. That was really a day to remember. And it's great you ran a 3:00:00 the next
November 14th in the New York City Marathon, but I'm sure 2:59:59 would have been sweeter.
Postscript 2 [April 2020]
On April 20, 2020 in an email chain started by the NY Flyers Captain for the men 50+ (mostly about surviving the COVID-19
situation), Gumby (aka David Mark Brown) spoke for the first time of what it was like to run Boston, start to finish,
as Gumby in costume.
eah, I [GUMBY] had qualified by doing a 3:11:28 at Grandmas as a 44-year-old – due to Coach Cliff’s training and Papa Bear encouraging
me to try and qualify, and then sheepherding me to Grandmas. That course is PERFECT!
Boston was daunting – due to the 8 ½ foot-long foam POKEY, which I bent into a 12” thick fold and bungeed into a king-sized fitted
sheet for the early Sunday morning Amtrak to Boston. In addition to that, I also had a massive backpack with clothes, toiletries,
and the Gumby costume.
At Penn Station, I found myself surrounded by NYPD Plainclothes demanding an ID.
After showing them my ID, one of them said. “Okay, but youse gotta get outta here. Youse can’t sleep here.”
My jaw dropped and I cringed, “Sleep?”
And another cop pointed to my ‘POKEY bundle’ and said, “Yeh, youse can’t bring that mattress in this station here.”
I gestured to my bundle and replied, “That’s no mattress. It’s POKEY.” And so, I unhooked the bungees and Pokey snapped
into shape. And then I reached into my backpack and pulled out my green Gumby head, put it on, and added, “And I’m GUMBY.”
One of the cops then laughed, “ Can youse hang on for a few minutes? We wants to take some pictures with ya for the boys
back at the Precinct.”
The Marathon itself was like the Bataan Death March. Bloody heat was wicked. At every water stop, I grabbed ice and pushed
it up into my GUMBY head. The green food coloring on my face was streaking in rivets. Ed O’Donnell was running along with
me the first half, monitoring my vital signs and trying to convince me to removed my foam head, which was like a toaster oven.
At Wellesley, the girls broke thru the barrier and hugged me so there was no way I was going out of character after that.
My historical race pacing for all my marathons was mediocre but I was good at hills. So I actually found my groove at Newtown’s
hills. At that point – maybe due to dropping 20 pounds of water weight – I was lighter on my feet and Heartbreak Hill was no big deal.
I picked up POKEY from Papa Bear's son at the Chesnut Hill Reservoir on the hill leading down to Beacon Street and then at Back Bay, there
were some fierce crosswinds that were blowing Pokey at an angle forcing me to grip tighter and steer POKEY like a Sunfish boat.
Like at Wellesley, the crowd came out onto the course and were high-fiving me. And Boylston Street was euphoric.
Rough day but loads of fun.
Thank you David. Now your highly unusual race back 28 years ago is on record for the ages.
So how did we do?
1993 Boston Marathon from the BAA archives |
| Gordon Loh | 2:56:22 |
| Frank Gasper | 2:56:35 |
| Christopher Post | 2:56:47 |
| Alastair Borthwick | 2:58:30 |
| Andreas Poss | 3:27:02 |
| Suzanne Dodge | 3:40:59 |
| Abdul-Krim Allam | 3:32:29 |
| Ed O'Donnell | 3:32:38 |
| Richard G. | 3:37:59 |
| Judy Morrill | 3:41:56 |
| Jerry Flower | 3:50:29 |
| Kathleen Brennan | 3:51:09 |
| David Mark Brown (aka Gumby) | 3:51:44 |
| David Kos | 3:55:05 |
| Mary Ann Gibney | 3:55:24 |
| Marjorie Kos | 4:16:07 |
I would say, given the hot and hilly coditions,
that we all did pretty darn well. |
So how did I do?
My Splits: 1993 Boston Marathon
from my log book:
(click Here) |
| Mile | Split | Mile | Split |
| delay | 2:45 | 14 | 7:58 |
| 1 | 8:46 | 15 | 8:09 |
| 2 | 7:59 | 16 | 7:55 |
| 3 | 7:42 | 17 | 8:25 |
| 4 | 7:30 | 18 | 8:20 |
| 5 | 7:44 | 19 | 8:25 |
| 6 | 7:37 | 20 | 8:48 |
| 7 | 7:41 | 21 | 9:23 |
| 8 | 7:40 | 22 | 8:34 |
| 9 | 7:50 | 23 | 9:04 |
| 10 | 7:55 | 24 | 8:32 |
| 11 | 7:57 | 25 | 8:52 |
| 12 | 7:45 | 26 | 8:57 |
| 13 | 7:52 | Finish | 3:35:12 |
|